Sheffield railway station has been named as one of the most dangerous and polluted places in Britain.

According to new figures released by Friends of the Earth, the area around platform 3A and 2B is the eighth most polluted spot in Britain – and is one of the most dangerous places outside London for air quality.

Sheffield train station has been named as one of the most polluted places in Britain.

The study found that a total of 1,845 places across the UK have toxic air pollution that breaks official safety limits for the polluting gas nitrogen dioxide.

Now the analysis of pollution monitoring sites across the country reveals busy roads across Britain are up to three times higher than the official limit.

Britain’s worst pollution hotspot was outside Earls Court tube station in London where the annual average of 129.5 micrograms per cubic metre of air was triple that of the World Health Organization's 40 mcg limit.

Friends of the Earth, which analysed the research said the country needs more clean air zones to restrict pollution - such as older models of polluting cars and vans - and to encourage non-polluting transportation such as walking and cycling.

Simon Bowens, clean air campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: ‘It’s unforgivable that across the UK there are nearly two thousand locations over air quality limits, leaving millions of us breathing dangerously polluted air.

‘Air pollution is often an issue thought of as affecting only the biggest cities.

'The reality is that unacceptably toxic air can be found across much of the UK, even in smaller towns.

'It is harming the health of people across the country and is especially bad for young children whose lungs are still developing.

‘The government needs to step up and do more to help deal with this air pollution crisis - they can’t just carry on leaving the difficult decisions with local authorities, many of which are severely under-resourced.’

THE WORST 10 AREAS IN THE UK

UK locations ranked by annual average level of NO2 (in ug/m3) - the objective is 40ug/m3: